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BLCA c22s01
Text Luna and Celestia strode calmly towards Ponyville, Celestia looking more composed now but deep in her own thoughts, and Luna breathing slowly, healed and feeling strong. She paused in the daylit fields to gaze over her shoulder at the edge of the forest... and she couldn't help but lick her lips slightly, her wings fluttering and raising up as Scrivener Blooms strode out of the forest, his eyes glowing sapphire beacons, his body splattered with mire and black blood, scales still cracked here and there and scars almost shimmering. He exuded strength and power and confidence now, his mind afloat with all kinds of dark pleasures, and it made Luna shiver in delight as her own body burned with desires she was barely keeping in check for now. Then, out of nowhere, Discombobulation calmly strolled up beside her and leaned down, raising his arms to point at her wings as he stated: "If you get a double wing-boner over the sight of that, you have serious mental issues." "Creature!" Luna blurted, flapping her wings wildly a few times before she furled them back against her sides, and Celestia looked up from her reverie, startled but relieved at the sight of the Draconequus. "And there thou art! I thought thou had abandoned us!" "No, I had to wash my mane." Discombobulation reached up, preening for a moment as he rushed his hands through the stiff mohawk of hair. "In fact, I washed it so well that I ended up washing my brain, too. Therefore I have no memory of what we recently did and would direly prefer to keep it that way. Genocide is not in my job description." "'Twas not genocide, 'twas self-defense. Zecora wanted to either turn me into a slave or kill me." Luna grumbled as Scrivener Blooms strode up behind them, then leaned down and nuzzled the winged unicorn's side soothingly, making her smile even as Discombobulation blew a raspberry at the two. "Shut up. Or is that jealousy? Scrivener Blooms, Bob is jealous. Thou had best remedy this." "I am not-" Discombobulation began, and then Scrivy leaned over and licked firmly up Discombobulation's front with his oversized tongue, slathering him in saliva before the Tyrant Wyrm placed a dainty kiss on the Draconequus's head, and Celestia could only stare as Luna threw her head back and laughed. The chimerical creature, meanwhile, only stood there, stunned... and then he slowly toppled backwards into the grass, and Luna laughed louder at this, rolling onto her back as Scrivener smiled and leaned back, looking pleased with himself. Then the winged unicorn rolled over and bounded up to her hooves, grinning widely as she looked towards Celestia and called easily: "Oh, come, sister, join in!" "I don't think that's the right attitude to have right now, Luna... we just... killed a lot of people. Zecora was a friend and you..." Celestia halted, and Luna's grin died slowly down to a faint smile as the sisters looked at one-another, before the ivory equine shook her head and added quietly: "Besides, Scrivener Blooms hasn't even sized down or cleaned off yet. We're going to scare people like this." Luna sighed a little bit, but didn't argue as she finally nodded and looked over her shoulder, saying gently: "Go ahead, Scrivy. Sister is right." The male grunted and nodded back, and then he leaned forwards and closed his eyes, beginning to slowly shrink down as his body glowed... and as he transformed, Luna turned her eyes back towards Celestia and stepped forwards, asking softly: "What bothers thee, sister, tell me true: I do not need to remind thee of what thou had ordered more than once in the past, now do I?" "No, I... sister..." Celestia hesitated... and then she grimaced a bit as Discombobulation sat up and walked over to her, holding his hands out as a large box of detergent appeared between them. "Thank you, but no. Luna... you and Scrivener Blooms... you were vicious. And never had I imagined fighting beside a Tyrant Wyrm, or letting that Tyrant Wyrm... clean up the mess afterwards, so to speak. Never had I thought the Black Verses could be... guided... like you both did. And Zecora spoke of curing you, of fixing you, and you initiated the attack instead of waiting..." "And thou planned the ambush thyself, Celestia! Scrivener Blooms, hiding with Discombobulation's powers... but... no, no, I shall listen." Luna took a short breath despite the way her desires roiled inside her, tried to elevate her anger. She closed her eyes instead, then opened them and said in a quiet voice: "And sister... between imprisonment and death, what would any Valkyrie have chosen?" "That..." Celestia halted, then sighed a little and looked down, shaking her head slowly as she murmured: "Alright. That is a fair point... but all the same, what if Zecora had a way to fix what was wrong with you?" "I fear her method may have involved stabbing me with that needle-weapon she had acquired at some point and injecting me with as much poison as she could." Luna said dryly, and Celestia grimaced a little before the dark-coated winged unicorn shook her head slowly. "Celestia, they were armed for battle, for war. 'Twas not peaceful solutions that Zecora had in mind, and they turned our strengths into weaknesses... trapping both of us by our magic horns, using Scrivener's great size to turn him into the perfect target for a coordinated attack, using poisoned weapons and projectiles that permitted them to keep distance. They were organized and efficient, and would have even turned our own servants against us had they the chance!" The ivory equine nodded slowly at this, bowing her head slightly as a shiver passed through her before she looked slowly at Scrivener and asked quietly: "And how did you feel, Scrivener Blooms?" "Furious. Vicious. Hungry." Scrivener answered, and he hesitated for a moment before meeting Celestia's eyes, his own chestnut irises still backed by a faint sapphire glow. "And to be honest? I did feel good, and powerful. I did feel godlike... and even now, I don't... regret what I did. I'm not entirely without empathy for them... but I am without sympathy." Celestia nodded slowly, and Luna glanced towards her husband, then returned her eyes towards her older sister as she said softly: "I was the same, Celestia. But... I have always enjoyed the battle. I figure it is our primal emotions mixing together that makes us so... so vicious and cruel. But we are in control... we did not pursue the fleeing cowards, after all, and I will leave the zebra to their fates in the wilds as long as they do not bother us any longer. Thou art worrying thyself too much... making great monsters out of... well, we are monsters, but..." "Mountains out of molehills. Or mass-murderers out of serial killers. Not to say they can't be the same, mind you... both of those things." Discombobulation supplied, nodding seriously as he hugged the box of detergent against his chest. "To something small, I'm very sure that a molehill is a terribly tall place, which contains within an awful monster greater than any dragon. And a serial killer, of course, can become a mass murderer merely by killing enough people... although others just really want friends and hugs and go about it completely the wrong way. Scrivener Blooms and Luna are a very good example of the latter." "Thou hast our thanks, Bob." Luna said dryly, glaring at the Draconequus, and he shrugged a bit before opening the box of detergent and reaching in to pull out a handful of jellybeans, stuffing this into his mouth as the dark-coated winged unicorn only looked at him for a moment before sighing and turning her eyes back towards Celestia. "All I desire to do is to announce to Ponyville that the killer of the Phooka was caught and... stopped... and to tell them not to fear what is to come in the future. To see if I can reason with them... aye, Celestia, I said reason, not merely scare them into listening to me." Luna paused, then looked down and smiled faintly as the four stood in the fields, a faint wind blowing by before she murmured as she gazed at the city walls in the distance: "'Twas so long ago... and 'twas not this same place at all, I realize... when I came to Ponyville with my Centurions. Nightmare Night... seeking to prove that I was changed, that I was not Nightmare Moon. And now look where we are..." She sighed softly, shaking her head slowly before starting forwards, and Celestia fell into step beside her sister, Scrivener Blooms and Discombobulation following as Luna murmured: "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I cannot change, sister, and cannot get them to change their view of me. For how many years did I protect Ponyville after all? And now, they have so quickly lost their faith in me..." "Sister, it's not your fault. It's not even their fault... a new world, a new regime, and they have been manipulated by... by sights and memories and fears. Who knows how much Zecora moved behind the scenes, too? She was capable of controlling demons, making them hurt one-another, with her strange charms..." Celestia shook her head slowly, murmuring: "And I would like to one day journey back out to that ravine, and search it for any hidden stores. I would like to see these objects... study them and their potential. I cannot imagine they brought the charms with them, after all..." "Aye, the Bifrost would have destroyed them. So they either got them from someone or are master crafters as well as master alchemists and apparently talented warriors." Luna said ironically, shaking her head grimly, and Celestia gave the smallest of smiles. "What?" "Nothing, Luna. Just... a flash of the old you." Celestia replied gently, and Luna glanced up at her sister before giving a small smile of her own and nodding slowly, and the four continued in silence into Ponyville, a calm descending over the group. They made their way to the library, first, where Celestia shook her head out and insisted on helping clean them up before they called a town meeting, apologizing awkwardly for having been so distant. Luna grumbled through the process of cleaning up, and Discombobulation simply sat back and watched, munching on handfuls of food he pulled out of the detergent box as Luna muttered about judgments while Scrivener and Celestia awkwardly tried to clean the blood and grime off the childish winged unicorn. When that was done, they headed to City Hall to call a meeting in the town square, and although Mayor Mare was wary of Luna – a little more understandable than most of the town, since the two had never quite been on the best of terms – she was more than glad to send out the message for Celestia. But surprisingly, it was Luna who insisted on giving the speech, even Scrivener looking dubious as the dark-coated winged unicorn brushed back her starry locks, her mane and tail both twisted upwards and glowing with light as she said calmly: "They must know me. They must know who I am, they must know I wish them peace... that it is not Celestia they must always depend upon. That sometimes they must look to me instead." The ponies of Ponyville and the outskirts gathered quickly in the square, as Discombobulation stood on a high balcony of town hall to look moodily down over the crowd, a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and his detergent box abandoned in favor of a bag of pretzels he had stolen from the cafeteria. There was a sense of excitement in the air: the message that had gone out had mentioned both Luna and Celestia had requested their presence, and it was like the ponies expected everything to go back to normal, every problem to be solved. Near the front of the crowd, seven ponies stood together, quarrels forgotten between them: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Pinkamena, and Rarity. They tossed looks at each other that ranged from apprehensive to apologetic, smiles to embarrassed winces... and then they, like all other ponies, looked forwards as the double doors of city hall opened. Scrivener Blooms and Celestia strode calmly out, side-by-side, before they both walked to one side of the steps... and then Luna walked slowly out and down the steps of city hall to stand at the bottom of the stairs, facing the crowd in front of her, head raised proudly and eyes confident and imperious as she said in a voice that echoed clearly through the square: "Citizens of Ponyville... do thee remember me? I am Luna, once Princess of the Night: I am Luna, the Champion of the Equestria that had been... I am Luna Brynhild... who failed each and every one of thee when I did not stop Ragnarok, and who could not save every soul of our former home." Her voice quieted, lost much of its edge as she closed her eyes and bowed her head forwards, and murmurs ran through the crowd before Luna looked up silently and continued in her softer, honest tones: "But I am trying to save the Ponyville we stand in now... and I am doing everything in my power to make the best of his new Equestria, this new world we have. Aye, the Nibelung are our allies here, not enemies, as all of thee well know and accept... but so are the creatures that few of thee have accepted. The creatures of the night... and they are my willing servants in this world, yes. Servants I have not dispatched to make thee suffer and miserable, but to watch out for and protect thee when I cannot be there myself. Servants I have brought into the fold because they are swift, and they are loyal, and they are strong "And I shall make this clear: to me, they and pony are equal in my eyes. Any pony that hurts one of the citizens, the servants of the night, shall be judged as if he or she had done harm to a fellow pony... just as my servants of the night shall receive the same treatment, if not harsher." Luna said clearly, looking slowly over the crowd. "Which brings me to another point, and an important one. "All of thee have heard of the zebras, I am sure, and their plight... and Celestia and I have only just returned from that maddened camp." Luna continued clearly, her voice unhesitating, her eyes cold. "Today we saw no injured, no wounded. Today, we saw soldiers... and instead of aid, we were tricked into a trap that could have resulted in the deaths of both myself and my sister. We were forced into battle against the zebras, and among them, a zebra I had thought friend... but Zecora had apparently long decided that I was a 'threat,' that I was a 'monster,' and proceeded to try and eradicate me as such. And it was Zecora who killed the Phooka... who I know has stirred up the minds of several ponies here, for she was a trusted friend and ally... but perhaps her time spent in the corrupted Equestria had harmed her worse than I had thought." There were whispers and murmurs at this, ponies looking back and forth fearfully, accusingly, angrily, and Applejack and Twilight both stared at Luna before trading shocked looks. Then the goldenrod earth pony flushed silently as Luna said clearly and her eyes locked with Applejack's: "I dare not guess at how she manipulated some of us. Especially because it was within her power to manipulate even my own servants of the darkness into trying to harm me." More rumbles and fear, before Luna leaned forwards and continued, the hum of voices dying down to listen intently: "I know that not all of thee trust me, and have no reason to, especially given my failures as well as my failure to explain to thee the new laws of this new world. But Celestia was there. Celestia fought beside me... as did my husband, as did Discombobulation. But I know her word carries the most weight to it, and I shall let her speak when I am finished, if she wishes to. I have little left to say. "What I do wish to implore, my friends, is that we work together... that we strive to be the Ponyville that once was, that did not judge, that let the actions of other speak for the quality of their person instead of idle gossip and opinions formed from their appearance alone." Luna gazed over the crowd, saying quietly: "When I was an exile, thou all accepted me, took me in, given time to see... please. I know all of thee have suffered. I know all of thee ache and long for what is gone, as do I, every day... but show the compassion that made Ponyville my utopia, my beloved kingdom in times' past. I implore thee." Luna bowed her head silently towards the gathered ponies, and there was a distinct shift through the crowd, murmurs as ponies looked apprehensively at one-another before Luna looked up with a faint smile, saying quietly: "But that is all I have to speak. I let my sister have her say now... if she wishes to add anything, that is." Luna glanced quietly up to where Celestia stood on the steps, and the ivory equine gazed silently down at her little sister for a moment, her mouth dry as she swallowed slowly before her eyes roved upwards and out over the gathered ponies, who all gazed towards her so expectantly... and then she lowered her head as she strode down the stairs, looking silently out over the crowd as she focused herself on the task at hand instead of the way Luna had so subtly skirted the truth, so neatly twisted the ponies to her cause before she said calmly: "I do not need to add anything further... only that my sister..." She halted, hesitated, looked towards Luna as the dark-coated winged unicorn gazed at her trustingly, lovingly, and pleadingly. "My sister has the best interests of Equestria at heart. She has been harshly, wrongly judged many times in the past... and her subjects are loyal. "We... are on our way to restoring our nation." Celestia hesitated for moment as she looked up over the ponies: ponies who gazed at her differently, her very presence changing the atmosphere, making hope fill their eyes... hope that she would guide them and lead them on, hope that she would solve all their problems for them, hope that she would move the very sun and moon for them so they never had to lift a hoof. It made a bitter knife twist in her heart, feeling a pulse pass through her chest that made her eyes darken slightly even as she remained composed, as if anything, her voice became stronger when she said: "My sister is strong and I have full faith in her, that has never wavered. She was right about Zecora. She has been right about many things. We need to trust in her, and her projects and designs, to ensure that Equestria will come together as strong as it can be." This made many ponies shift awkwardly, nodding and whispering amongst themselves as Luna looked with surprise at Celestia, who smiled softly and nodded slowly once to her younger sibling... and then Luna smiled widely, warmly back as ponies began to stomp their hooves, applauding the two, looking at the sisters with hope. And yet even as Twilight applauded as well, she couldn't help but feel a tingle run down her spine, a moment of worry for what the future would hold even as Luna and Celestia embraced tightly, the happiness in the air feeling strangely like nothing more than a thin coat of paint over a bitter, harsher truth lurking below. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story